Staff Council Meeting
Wednesday, March 13, 2002, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Present: Diane Anderson, Pat Arkema, Ella Born, Vicki Brown, Cathy Colony Bunnell,
Jenniffer Carpe, Jan Christensen, Charlie Eastham, Judy Elleson, David Fitzgerald,
Mary Freitag, Pat Kenner, Hazel Kerr, Kathy Klein, Joy Kross, Feather Lacy,
Dongwang Liu, Mark Long, David Martin, Bonnie McIntosh, Donna Muller,
Juan Parales, Sherry Pech, Cheryl Reardon, Christine Remmert, Janice Simmons-Welburn, Rebecca Stamy, Anne Tanner, Amy Welter, Jeanette Wigim, Xian Wu,
Heather Weber
Absent: Cheryl Carter, Milind Deshpande, Susan Felker, Donna Hirst, Pamela Kacena,
Tina Knutson, Karon Kolek, Wanda Magruder, Sandra Reed, Jun Tang,
Michael Wichman
Administrative Liaison: Sue Buckley, Interim Associate Vice President of Human Resources
1. The meeting was called to order at 2:40 p.m.
2. Review/approval of minutes.
a. 2/13/02 Staff Council meeting minutes were reviewed and approved as amended.
b. Reviewed minutes from 2/15/02 and 2/19/02 Executive Committee meetings. Councilors did not raise any questions. Sue Buckley asked for an amendment to the minutes of the 2/19/02 Executive Committee Meeting with President Coleman.
3. Pat Arkema introduced the newly elected Councilors who were present as guests: Al Young (who is returning after one year off Council), Cheri Arneson, Julee Darner, Jennifer Tucker, Jeff Wasson, and Michelle Wichman. Current Councilors who were reelected are Mary Freitag, Kathy Klein, Joy Kross, Mark Long, and Janice Simmons-Welburn. Jeff Evans and Sara Nichols were also elected to Staff Council, but were unable to attend this meeting.
4. Comments – Interim AVP Sue Buckley.
a. Sue mentioned that the Board of Regents is meeting in Ames today and tomorrow.
1) None of the five regents institutions are bringing forth suggestions this year for a new early retirement program.
2) Thus far, there have been a few more than 400 requests for participation in the early retirement program, which is ending 6/30/02.
b. Sue discussed some features of the Self-Service Center on the Human Resources web site.
1) Emergency Contacts: About 4600 people have entered information.
2) Beginning in early April, people will be able to view the information that the university has regarding their race, gender,
and disability status.
3) HR is considering providing the employee's work history, including such important dates as seniority and the date that career status was achieved.
c. Sue referred to President Coleman's recent memo regarding the UI Budget.
1) President Coleman has made it clear that we will not use temporary furloughs as a means to achieve the nearly $5
million dollar reduction in the current general fund budget. Permanent lay-offs will be used only if absolutely necessary.
2) This reduction will only bring us to the close of this fiscal year. No one has a clear picture of what will happen for FY
03.
A few councilors addressed some questions to Sue and discussion followed.
5. Issues/Reports/On-going Concerns:
a. Cathy Colony Bunnell reminded Councilors of the Bylaws Committee proposal to change Article IX, Section 3 regarding the duties of the Secretary of Council. Pat Arkema told everyone that a motion to accept the changes had been made and seconded at the February Staff Council meeting. Pat then asked if there was any discussion and called for a vote. The motion was approved.
b. Juan Parales, chair of the Diversity Committee, discussed State Senate File 2240. This bill was introduced by State Senator Steve King. Mr. King also introduced Senate File 165, "The Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act of 2001." File 2240 is currently in committee on Education. Juan asked if Staff Council should take a stand against this legislation. A motion was made to have the Diversity Committee draft a resolution to urge the university to actively oppose File 2240. The motion was seconded and approved.
c. Dave Martin provided an update of the plans for Staff Celebration Day (SCD). The IOWA awards will be given out sometime during the event. Dave handed out SCD flyers and copies of the application for booths for the event. Nancy Noyer asked Dave to let Councilors know that there are four ways they can help: post flyers, hand out applications, volunteer to help during the event, and attend the event. Nancy will be at the April Staff Council meeting. A question was raised with regard to taking time off from work to attend the celebration. Sue Buckley said that staff are encouraged to attend. However, there is not an official policy that allows release time to attend the SCD event.
d. Laura Reed, representing the UI Wellness Program, discussed a new initiative. A comprehensive pilot wellness program for a select group of employees will be introduced this spring. Laura handed out an Executive Summary that provided information, such as the purpose of the program, eligibility requirements for participation, service options, and a timeline.
6. Elections of Staff Council officers:
Vicki Brown, chair of the Elections Committee, announced the candidates for Vice-President/President-Elect and Secretary. She handed out a flyer with brief bios for the two candidates. Pat Arkema called for other nominations. When there were none, she closed nominations and called for a vote. After a count of ballots, Vicki announced that Charlie Eastham would be the new Vice President/President-Elect and Ella Born would continue as Secretary.
7. Pat Arkema initiated a discussion of Political Action Committees (PACs) and distributed two handouts that were prepared by Mr. Jim Sutton. One handout was a description of PACs, including the advantages and disadvantages of PACs. The other handout was a questionnaire to determine interest in forming a PAC. Mr. Sutton, a former legislator, previously spoke to a joint meeting of the Faculty Senate and Staff Council Governmental Relations Committees. After that meeting, it was decided to survey faculty to determine their level of interest in forming a PAC. Pat, along with the Staff Council Executive Committee, decided to bring this issue to the other Councilors to see if a survey of staff should also be attempted. Pat introduced Dr. Amitava Bhattacharjee, President of Faculty Senate, as a guest and suggested that he might share some faculty perspectives on the issue. Some questions were raised and there was some discussion. Since there were no obvious objections from Councilors to soliciting information from staff, it was decided to do so, in conjunction with Faculty Senate, using a slightly revised version of the questionnaire.
8. Staff Council President's Annual Report:
Pat Arkema delivered her annual report elucidating highlights of Staff Council during the past year. She acknowledged and thanked the chairs of the internal committees. She also thanked HR Interim AVP Buckley, the other Council officers, and office manager Heather Weber. Pat named and delivered certificates to those Councilors who were completing their terms on Council. Dave Martin, Vice-President/President-Elect gave a gift to Pat, thanking her for her dedicated service to the Council this past year. Pat passed the gavel to Dave.
9. Meeting adjourned: 4:25 p.m.
10. There was a brief reception for new and retiring Staff Councilors.
11. Next Meeting: April 10, 2002, 2:30-4:30 p.m., Clasen Board Room, JCP.
Respectfully submitted,
Ella Born, Staff Council Secretary